The Government have seen their ID proposals stagger from shambles to shambles. They are trying to introduce them by stealth by making them necessary if you want to work for the Government, take out a student loan or open a student bank account.

"This is blackmail and a desperate attempt to bolster a failing policy." The Identity and Passport Service did little to deny the plan. A spokesman said: "We have always said the scheme will be rolled out incrementally."

The biometric cards are due to be introduced for foreign nationals later this year with the first expected to be issued to UK citizens on a voluntary basis from 2009.

Any move towards compulsory cards for everyone would come only after a vote in Parliament.

Pressure to abandon the scheme has mounted amid a series of data losses, including the details of 25 million child benefit claimants.